The Best TV Episode You've Probably Never Seen About Combat-Related PTSD, Suicide, and the Long Road Home.

Have you ever heard of the TV Show, 'Hack'?  I hadn't either, but it was available in Netflix and its premise sounded interesting.  I cop that made a mistake, lost his badge, and started over as a cabbie or hack in Philadelphia.  The show starts Andre Braugher and David Morse so I figured I'd like it.

I'm glad I gave it a chance.  The show ran for two seasons in 2003 and 2004.  It has excellent lessons in morality and it's massive scale of grey, love, hope, and family.  Then I started watching Season 2, Episode 14, named "Fog of War".  The main character's godson came home from Iraq after being wounded and they depicted PTSD, raw and unfiltered.  They showed how he tried to numb his mind with pain killers and alcohol.  They showed how corrosive the effects of survivor's guilt can be on the soul.  They illustrated the particular way in which our anger can flare - by raging against inanimate objects and scaring the crap out of our loved ones.  It illustrates moral injury and the cost of war upon the human condition.  What gave me chills was the manner in which the actor playing the soldier depicted intrusive recollections.  The unconscious twitch of the body, the quasi-nauseous shudder and the thousand yard stare.

It also shows how quickly dependency and depression, combined with survivor's guilt, can lead to suicidal ideation.

One thought kept on popping into my head:  "This Could've Been Me."

PTSD didn't really reach mainstream awareness and acceptance as the signature wound of this conflict until 2006 and 2007.  What really gave me goosebumps was the date that this episode aired:  Feburary 7, 2004.  Just five days after I returned home from overseas - I was one of the vanguard.  One of the first to return home from Iraq.  They didn't even have support services in place for the conflict in Iraq.  My support group was comprised of veterans of previous conflicts, predominantly Vietnam.

I watched the episode four times in a row, with tears in my eyes every time.  Every time I watched it, the more poignant I realized it was - and just how aware the writing team was of the enduring costs of war.  I would warn against watching this episode if you are still learning to cope with triggers, but if you are in the right frame of mind - take the time to watch this episode.  It will be particularly educational for family members.  The show demonstrates just how important fidelity, unconditional support and love are to our returning veterans.

The veteran depicted in the show had a father who was a hard-nosed cop.  Old-school.  The show no weakness type of man who thought his son should just forget what happened and 'just move on' in his life.  The main character, who over the course of one and a half seasons has found his compassion and his own code of morality, lights the way to a positive solution to the show - not with his virtues but with acceptance of his flaws.  It is masterfully done and in such a way as to give hope to those who watch it that their loved ones with PTSD can learn to cope and live with their experiences.

I really didn't see this episode coming at all.  It even depicted the politics of the time from both sides of the aisle in a way that showed the validity of both standpoints without being argumentative.

Take the time to watch this show if you have Netflix.  You won't regret it.  It is truly an episode for the ages.